Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos has been removed from the upcoming SpaceX Crew 12 mission to the ISS for violating US national security regulations. He is suspected of photographing classified documents from Elon Musk’s company.
Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos has been removed from the upcoming SpaceX Crew 12 mission to the ISS for violating US national security regulations. He is suspected of photographing classified documents from Elon Musk’s company.
Space, citing Russian media, reports that 54-year-old Artemyev was likely removed from the mission for violating ITAR (International Traffic in Arms Regulations), a US law that aims to protect national security by restricting the dissemination of confidential information and technology.
It is reported that the astronaut may have photographed classified SpaceX documentation and tried to transmit it using his phone. An investigation is currently underway, and the exclusion of the Russian from the crew two months before the flight may indicate serious suspicions of misconduct.
Some Russian Telegram channels report that Artemyev was training at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, where he allegedly took photos of SpaceX engines and other confidential equipment with his phone.
Roscosmos announced that cosmonaut Andrei Feodyaev would take his place, as Oleg Artemyev was transferred «to another job.»
Artemyev spent a total of 560 days in space on three long-duration missions to the ISS, which launched in March 2014, March 2018, and March 2022. In July 2022, Roscosmos published photos of Artemyev and two of his fellow cosmonauts on the ISS holding the flags of the so-called LPR and DPR. NASA and the head of the European Space Agency (ESA) condemned the photoshoot, stressing that the orbiting laboratory should not be used as a platform for military propaganda.
SpaceX Crew 12 is scheduled to launch no earlier than February 15. The mission is being carried out by SpaceX under contract with NASA and aims to deliver four astronauts to the ISS for an approximately six-month stay.
